An English Language Blog About Olympique Marseille

Tag Archives: Guingamp

Having started week 3 with their 3rd manager, no wins and the lowest Ligue goal-scorers, an emphatic win over Troyes took OM from the foot of the table and to the Ligue’s joint highest scorers, bringing some much needed pride and confidence to the Velodrome. Some excellent performances from new signings Diarra and Cabella along with solid performances from Mendy, Batshuayi and Alessandrini were the pick of the bunch, though everyone played their part.

The 6-0 win certainly hit the headlines, but as good as OM were, the second half performance from Troyes meant that as good as OM were, most Ligue 1 teams would probably have put a number of goals past Troyes as they completely collapsed and looked as dejected a side I have ever seen. So another week and another test for Michel and his squad. The result against Troyes will be quickly forgotten in aid of more ‘crisis-club’ headlines should OM fail to pick up a win over bottom of the Ligue, Guingamp, who have failed to register a goal or point so far this season.

Michel has managed to bolster his squad already with the loan of Real Madrid’s Lucas Silva, though he isn’t available for the match-day squad yet, Dja Djedje misses out through the injury he received before the Troyes match, so Romao returns to the squad after his suspension. Given the performance against Troyes it is likely that Michel will name the same starting 11.

A trip to Guingamp is never easy, OM have won as many games there as they have lost (3 each with 2 draws too), and Joeclyn Gourvennec will want to bring some cheer to the home faithful after a poor start to the season. After the highs of last season’s Europa League exploits, many expected Guingamp to make a positive start to this season without continental distractions, however, 3 straight losses to Nantes, Lyon and Bastia have left the club bottom of Ligue 1.

Life was always going to be difficult for Guingamp after losing last season’s top scorer, Caludio Beauvue to Lyon and as a result they’ve failed to find the back of the net so far. Their average of 4 shots on target per game, compared to OM’s 5 showing the difference a week can make to how clinical a team can appear statistically in front of goal.

Expected Guingamp line up

Lossl

Jacobsen, Kerbrat, Sorbon, Leveque

Salibur, Mathis, Sankhare, Giresse

Benezet, Briand

Coming off the back of such a big win, OM will have to perform well again. This will keep morale and confidence high amongst the squad ahead of tougher games (Lyon and psg in the next 5 games) and demonstrate to other teams and the press that the Troyes game was not just a flash in the pan.

Marseille finally picked up their first win at the third time of asking, but made hard work of it against a poor Guingamp team. Bielsa’s side had the lions-share of possession and chances, however it was a sole goal from Andre-Pierre Gignac immediately after the interval the settled the result.

OM started the game positively, playing with some confidence that had been missing in last week’s shocking show against Montpellier. Passing and movement led to Marseille controlling the game from the outset and they began making the Samassawork in the Guingamp goal quickly. Dja Djedje and Payet first wen close, then Gignac and Thauvin worked the ‘keeper and woodwork a number of times each.

Despite this though both sides went in equal at half time where Bielsa opted to bring off the creative Thauvin for finisher Batshuayi. Within seconds of the restart, Bielsa’s change looked to have worked as Gignac broke the deadlock. Quick play down the left saw the ball played forward to Batshuayi. His first time lay-off to Payet was then crossed to the back-post where Gignac volleyed the ball into the ground, bouncing back across goal and beating Samassa.

The travelling OM fans managed to get their first glimpse of new-signing Barrada as he came on to replace Payet. Barrada immediately settled into the pace of the game showing some good vision and making some key passes. Marseille did lose some of their dominance and control over the game from this point, however, with our main creative outlets, Thauvin and Payet, both being off the pitch.

Guingamp searched for an equaliser later on, but other than Lemaitre clipping the cross-bar as he shot from distance on the only scares were injury scares. Firstly, Mandanda collided with Yatabare, the same two who met on the final day of last season, a collision which left Mandanda unable to join the French national side for the Brazil World Cup. Shortly before full-time, Gignac went down after twisting his ankle, he was stretchered off but thankfully began training mid-week after recovering.

Bielsa’s reaction (from om.net):

“We had several good opportunities and we managed to score. After going in front, we controlled the game pretty well. Defensively, the team played well and individually, the players did the job. We could have scored more goals because we had a number of good chances. The team defended very well and also constructed good attacks, but, on the other hand, we didn’t finish well.”

Marseille and Bielsa look to make it third time lucky as they search for their first Ligue 1 win of the season after picking up a draw and defeat so far. An entertaining opening day draw at Bastia was met with excitement, but the disastrous defeat by Montpellier was met with boos and whistles from the capacity Velodrome crowd last week. Bielsa made it clear that the result and performance were not acceptable and will be looking for an immediate response from his squad as they travel north to Brittany.

Bielsa is still without Mario Lemina but no one else is expected to be missing from the squad. The full 18 that have travel is made up of:

Although not obviously critical of individuals from the Montpellier defeat, it will be interesting to see who Bielsa opts for in the defensive aspects of the starting 11, with neither Nkoulou, Morel, Romao or Dja Djedje covering themselves in glory.

Bielsa will expect Imbula and Ayew/Payet to provide greater links between defence and attack in this game with hopes that Thauvin can see more of the ball too and show off his creative side more than he was able to against Montpellier. Although Gignac is expected to start, a poor first half may see him replaced by Batshuayi early into the 2nd 45.

Expected line-up and formation:

Mandanda

Romao Nkoulou Morel

Dja Djedje Imbula Mendy

Thauvin Payet Ayew

Gignac

Jocelyn Gourvennec’s Guingamp side suffered an opening day defeat at the hands of string starters Saint-Etienne, but managed to see off newly promoted Lens last week with a single late goal from Douniama. Having witnessed the OM defensive frailties last week, expect ex-NUFC man Sylvain Marveaux to try and exploit this down the Guingamp left side.

Expected Guingamp line-up:

Samassa

Jacobsen Sorbon Kerbrat Baca

Beauvue Diallo Mathis Marveuax

Yatabara Schwartz

Once again, Marseille should have enough strength to see off Guingamp, OM also have history on their with 6 wins from the last 6 meetings between the 2 sides. However, should OM put in the same performance as last week, expect another ‘upset’ and life to become even more difficult for Bielsa.

Marseille opened up the season with a 3-1 away win at Le Stade Roudourou. OM were extremely quick out of the blocks and sensationally had a 3 goal cushion as early as the 16th minute. It looked like it’d be a romp in the park, but a poor defensive display marred what was a great night for the attack. In the 2nd half,Guingamp missed a penalty, reduced the arrears, and should’ve arguably scored more goals. But Elie Baup’s men managed to hold on for the win and collect a vital opening day 3 point haul.

Smoking hot start for OM

OM lined up in their familiar 4-2-3-1. Debuts were given to Benjamin Mendy, Gilbert Imbula and Dimitri Payet, whilst Souley Diawara partnered Nkoulou in central defence. Lucas Mendes came back from the summer break a few pounds too heavy and isn’t deemed in good enough condition yet. OM got off to the perfect start when Andre Ayew’s shot was only parried by Samassa straight into the path of Andre Pierre Gignac who had a virtual tap-in which he couldn’t miss. Things got even better for the visitors just a couple of minutes later when the Guingamp defence failed to deal with a routine low cross into the area. They couldn’t clear and Dimitri Payet converted well sliding the ball into the bottom left corner.

OM were smoking hot in attack in the early stages of this game and looked like they could score at will. However, an early alarm bell rang when at the other end Mustapha Yatabare missed a virtual sitter from not far out. Marking was non existent and it was a wake-up call. Guingamp were having constant defensive issues though and Marseille made it 3-0 in the 16th minute through Payet again. Samassa saved well from a Valbuena shot, but the defence couldn’t clear and the ex Lille man converted well. It really had been a sensational start to the season by OM and it looked like game over.

But Guingamp always looked as threat with their 4-4-2 formation in the 1st half and created chances. The whole of the OM backline looked vulnerable with the likes of Nkoulou, Diawara and Mandanda all making sloppy errors which were fortunate to go unpunished. OM of course still looked dangerous themselves though and maybe could’ve scored 4 or 5 goals by halftime. They had to be content with just a 3-0 lead, but realistically the match looked done and dusted.

Guingamp miss penalty, then reduce arrears

Guingamp made a substitution at HT and bolstered their midfield by bringing on Diallo. They changed formation to a 4-3-3 and immediately started the period on the front foot. Steve Mandanda had to be alert to make a couple of early saves. Guingamp looked more solid and compact with a 4-3-3, certainly less vulnerable defensively anyway. The hosts were given a lifeline in the 52nd minute when referee Said Ennjimi awarded them a penalty. Souley Diawara lunged in on Steven Langil and it was probably a correct decision to award the spot kick, albeit slightly debatable. The ineffective Yatabare missed from 12 years though as Mandanda made a great save to preserve OM’s 3 goal advantage.

What followed then was a period of general stability where not much happened. It looked to be cruise control mode for OM but they allowed Guingamp back into the match thanks to a defensive howler. Nicolas Nkoulou gave the ball away terribly in his own area and the end result was Yatabare converting past Mandanda at his near post. You couldn’t deny that Guingamp deserved a goal, but was it too little too late in the 74th minute? Well, for sure there were some nervy moments for the visitors, especially 3 minutes from time when Diallo missed a free header not too far out. But eventually OM held on comfortably enough and ended up prevailing by a 3-1 scoreline.

Of course, all you can ever ask for on the opening day of the season is 3 points. OM have managed to achieve this with plenty of positives, most of them coming from the attack force. New signing DImitri Payet was sensational on debut, whilst Valbuena was his usual threatening self. Gignac and Andre Ayew also both had good games too, plus new signings Mendy and Imbula both looked decent. However, there were negatives too. Nkoulou had an absolute stinker and Diawara didn’t look much better. Mandanda, despite doing some good things also looked poor at times. In general, the defence seemed to lack composure and there was also a lack of communication. So, there are plenty of things to work on, but at the end of the day OM managed to win 3-1 and thats the most important thing.

[vimeo 72289990 h=650 w=500]

Player ratings and notes :-

Mandanda 5/10 – Made some good saves, including a good penalty stop but made errors too and didn’t link up with the backline very well. Flapped at a few crosses and set pieces.

Fanni 5/10 – Performed his duties to a satisfactory level and supported the attack on occasion too.

Diawara 3/10 – Conceded a needless penalty and made other sloppy errors. Has lack of pace may well have caught up with him now.

Nkoulou 2/10 – And it might even be generous to give him a 2 rating, he was so poor. Constantly gave the ball away, lacked concentration and was 100% at fault for Guingamp’s goal. Very poor.

Mendy 6/10 – Looked the best of the backline and impressed on debut, had a high energy level.

Romao 5/10 – Solid, without being spetacular

Imbula 6/10 – Impressive debut against his former club, seemed to dominate the midfield and looked really at ease

Andre Ayew 6/10 – Had a nice game and contributed solidly on the left hand side

Marseille begin their Ligue 1 campaign away at newly promoted Guingamp on Sunday evening. After a summer of some shrewd investment in the shadows behind psg and Monaco’s monetary prowess it’s time to prove that Ligue 1 is not going to be a two horse race and les phocéens have a big point to prove. After little investment last summer, along with losing the manager and some big name players (Azpilicueta, Mbia, Remy, Lucho and Diarra) OM still pushed psg further than most expected through disciplined and mature performances, the likes of which had rarely been witnessed under Deschamps guidance. Elie Baup will hope that the squad can keep this new found discipline, whilst improve on their poor entertainment value that saw the club criticised last year. The excellent start to the season that saw OM top the table with 6 wins from 6 certainly helped build confidence in a much changed club, and although OM haven’t underwent the same volume of changes this summer, a solid start to the season would help give credence to their title aspirations, to those ignorant to football outside of money.

Marseille

Elie Baup will be without the services of new signing Saber Khlifa who is not registered in time to feature, and Jeremy Morel who is suspended. Fellow new signings; Giannelli Imbula, Dimitri Payet and Benjamin Mendy are all expected to feature having trained and played in recent friendlies.
What will be interesting though is which formation Elie Baup decides to play. Having been successful with 4-2-3-1 throughout last season, the coach has experimented with 4-3-3 and even 4-4-2 during some of the friendlies. Through the results, it would be easy to suggest that those experiments didn’t work, however it does offer flexibility in varying attacks and supporting defence.
Through the suspension of Morel it is expected that Mendy will start at left back. Having impressed pre-season Imbula may start in defensive midfield along with Romao, and Payet will be likely to start on the right.
Imbula will start in defensive midfield facing up against his former club, alongside Romao.
Full squad: Mandanda, Samba – Abdallah, Diawara, Fanni, Mendes, Mendy, Nkoulou – Amalfitano, Cheyrou, Imbula, Kadir, Romao, Valbuena – J. Ayew, A. Ayew, Gignac, Payet. Likely lineup and formation.

Guingamp

Having finished 2nd in Ligue 2, Jocelyn Gourvennec’s side had the best home record in the ligue, 4th best defensive record and kept 15 clean sheets, so given that they are at home they will certainly be no pushovers as they look to pick up early points to avoid a relegation that most believe is expected. The team will have the backing of an expected sold out crowd and have a full strength squad available. After losing Imbula to us, Planté to Red Star Paris, Camara to CA Bastia, Bellugou to Nancy and Rouger to Rennes, Guingamp have strengthened their squad through Ligue 2 purchases. Sorbon from Caen, Langil from Auxerre, Beauvue from Chateauraux, Sankharé from Dijon and Assembe from Nancy are all expected starters from Guingamp.
The danger man for EAG is undoubtedly red-hot striker Mustapha Yatabaré. The 6 foot forward netted 23 times for Guingamp last season. His pace is certainly a strength although both Nkoulou and Mendes are not the slowest defenders he will come across, his quick thinking finishes inside the box may be his best chance of beating the defence and Mandanda.
Guingamp squad: Samassa, Assembe – Pereira, Sankoh, Sorbon, Leveque, Lemaitre – Kerbrat, Mathis, Diallo, Sankhare, Giresse, Atik – Beauvue, Langil, Yatabare, Douniama, Alioui.

Summary
As always, it’s very difficult to predict results early on in the season particularly against newly promoted opposition, however, if both teams play to their strengths then Marseille should win this one.

Stats
Out of 6 meetings between EAG/OM in Brittany, Guingamp have won 3, OM 1 and 2 draws.
Marseille won last ligue game in Guingamp 1-0, 10 years ago with Bakayoko netting in the final minutes.
Last meeting between EAG/OM was Coupe de France match last season, OM won 2-1 (after extra time) with Gignac scoring both goals.

Well, OM were sadly very poor in this match and didn’t play well. Despite starting the match at full strength, things just didn’t work out. The Germans were far more ‘up for it’ here and for whatever reason Elie Baup’s men didn’t fire. Maybe the poor weather didn’t help matters, but there was still no excuse for such a poor showing. Wolfsburg took the lead in just the 3rd minute and should’ve extended their advantage before HT. They finally added a 2nd goal with about 10 mins left, no doubt who was the better team here so time to move on….

Parma 1-0 OM

OM played much better in this match, but still ended up losing. They pretty much dominated all of the encounter but were caught out late on by a counter attacking sucker punch move from Parma. What mattered more here though was performance, and there were far more encouraging signs. Still, its always nice to get a win on the board when you play well and OM ended up losing….

Sampdoria 4-3 OM

This was an absolutely cracking game of football but once again OM came out 2nd best. The main positive was that just like the Parma match, OM outplayed their opponents and were the better team. The negative was a terrible lapse of concentration midway through the 1st half and once again a late mental drift that allowed Sampa to win the game. Gignac gave OM the lead early on, but then Sampa scored 3 goals in the space of 5 minutes! They led 3-1 at HT but OM were soon back on level terms thanks to a quick brace themselves. Baup’s men had chances to go ahead but failed to convert and it was the Italians who won it thanks to an 85th minute strike. Once again, a lot of frustration here because OM played well but failed to get the win, or even a draw.

First Ligue 1 game, away at Guingamp

So OM have lost 4 of their 6 pre season friendlies, with the only victory coming against Ligue 2 side Lens. In terms of results, its not been the best of preparations for Elie Baup’s men, but performances haven’t been too bad at least. The most recent defeats should never have happened and I think some optimism can be taken into the first ligue encounter. OM faced newly promoted opposition in their first match last season too (1-0 win away at Reims), so they are used to this situation. For sure, ‘Gwengamp’ will be treating this fixture like a cup final though, so OM will really need to be up for the fight.

Marseille needed extra time to beat off a spirited Gungamp side to progress into the next round of the Coupe de France. It was a weekend where CDF surprises were more widespread than expected, and it was only thanks to a Pierre Andre Gignac brace, one of which was in extra time which ensured OM wouldn’t be added to the list of casualties.

The match started fairly quietly and in the first 20 mins OM found it difficult to break down Guingamp. The big positive was how sharp Gignac looked upfront though and if anyone was to break the deadlock, he seemed like a prime candidate. Unsurprisingly it was ‘Bigmac’ who made it 1-0 in the 25th minute when he finish nicely over the keeper following opportunistic OM offensive play.

The first half didn’t contain many chances though and neither team was looking particularly penetrative going forwards. It was mostly a midfield tactical battle, and Guingamp despite having fallen behind were content to keep the deficit to just one goal.

The 2nd period was the same, for the most part anyway. There was relatively little action although OM always seemed in relative control of the encounter. Remy had a chance on the hour mark when played through on goal but he couldn’t convert. Guingamp didn’t offer too much threat but appeared to be an organised team and the longer it stayed 1-0, the more dangerous it would be for OM.

The hosts could’ve made it 2-0 with 10 minutes left but Valbuena sent a curling shot but the keeper saved . Not too long afterwards, Guingamp equalled dramatically through Christophe Mandanne. A nice chipped ball was sent through the middle to him and Jeremy Morel lost his footing, failing to hold him off. Mandanne still had work to do, but he slotted past Steve Mandanda with excellent composure.

Guingamp should’ve won the match in the last minute of stoppage time but Charrier failed to convert a free header from close range. Credit to Mandanda for making an excellent save, but really the visitors should’ve buried that chance and they really let OM off the hook. The final scoreline inside 90 mins was 1-1 and it meant we were heading to extra time to determine a winner.

The first period of extra time was fairly lively, at least compared to what the match had been so far. Both sides looked like going for it, the closest anyone came was through a Gignac header which went just over the bar. Just after the restart in extra time, OM scored the wining goal thanks to a deflected Gignac volley. It was certainly a fortuitous deflection, but overall the 2-1 scoreline was a fair reflection on proceedings. Guingamp thought they should’ve had a penalty late on for a Mendes handball, but the hosts managed to hold on for victory and to scrape into the next round…….